A Hudson Valley Fourth of July

Happy Monday! I hope you all have had as good a Monday as possible after a long weekend. It’s been a long day in these neck of the woods as we were up at 4:45 this morning! After the Sunday trains had sold out, we decided to catch the 6:40 train from Rhinebeck back to New York City. It was an early morning, but it allowed us an extra night of vacation and by 8:30 I was at my desk working away!

In addition to the Hudson Valley Hike post I wrote last night, I wanted to give you guys a bit more of a look at the fun weekend we head together! What better way to do that than a quick sentence per picture recap?

Each of our nights included hours talking around the small charcoal grill while Bo and Bob grilled rib-eye, lamb chops, spareribs and chicken each night.

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Walking through the town of Kingston, NY was the perfect way to spend a morning. There are adorable shops, cafes with Kombucha on tap, lots of little restaurants, and bakeries on almost every corner.

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We fell in love with Fleisher’s Meats so much so that we bought four nights worth of meat there on the first day as well as enough bacon to feed in army. The only thing that makes this butcher even better is that I just discovered they have another location WALKING DISTANCE from our new apartment in Brooklyn!

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Each morning we were able to watch deer dine on leaves and flowers while we sipped our tea and coffee.

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Happy Fourth of July from a local Woodstock resident!

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These Levain Bakery copycat cookies didn’t last 24 hours in our house, thanks to a few cookie monsters. It’s safe to say that Kristin was right – these are incredible!

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Thank you Greatist to providing us with the most delicious guacamole recipe this weekend!

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Regardless their age, boys will be boys!

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Little known fact, Bo wishes he was at the Grateful Dead Fare Thee Well Tour or the live simulcast this weekend.

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This uphill road never seemed to end, but the lake views at the end of the hike certainly were gorgeous!

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Just taking a break along the lake to enjoy the views and fresh air.

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This morning, these train station stairs signaled the end of vacation.

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Fourth of July in Geneva, Switzerland

The title of this post should really be fifth of July because on the fourth of July, I went to work as if it was any other day. As an expat working abroad in Geneva, Switzerland I get the local bank holidays off versus our US national holidays. Our bank holidays tend to be clumped together around Catholic holidays in the Spring and late Summer versus in the United States where it seems to average one per month.

While I didn’t get Friday off, I was amused to find that many people in my office were also wearing red, white and blue. The only difference was that they were wearing the colors in support of France who played, and lost to Germany, in the World Cup Friday night.

But, on the fifth of July, we did indeed celebrate Fourth of July, or America’s birthday as my friend Emily calls it. More than 30 people from five different continents came together yesterday afternoon to enjoy sunshine, delicious food, lots of beverages, frisbee, a few dips in the lake, and an excuse to wear lots of red, white and blue!

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The host committee, led by Emily and a few of her friends, went all out providing patriotic leis, paper lanterns, cups, plates and more! Even though our grill was only a foot in diameter and barely held a rack of ribs, it stood up to the test of cooking lots of meat for hungry friends all afternoon!

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Emily, aka Lady Liberty in Geneva, deserves a prize for being the most patriotic person I know. An equally as patriotic ensemble was worn last week during every USA World Cup game in addition to being sported at her law office on Fourth of July.

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Meanwhile, yesterday’s festivities made Bo and I both realize that neither of us have any red in our wardrobe.

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My favorite food of the day included the delicious cheeseburger I shared with Bo as well as a few of the ribs, freshly imported from the United States via Delta. But, the real star of the show was Emily’s homemade Salted Caramel Apple pie. It was INCREDIBLE. I would ask for the recipe if I thought I would actually last through a recipe as complicated as one that includes homemade crust, lattice crust and made from scratch salted caramel.

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While Bo and I both missed the long weekend and fireworks our friends enjoyed back in the United States, we had fun celebrating with so many new friends from across the world yesterday.

What did you do to celebrate the Fourth of July?

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Happy Fourth of July

Today was the best Fourth of July we’ve had in ages. It started bright and early with a trip out to Long Beach for a beach day with friends. Blog Pictures 2010 440    This was our first Long Island beach experience and were pleasantly surprised. The local train only took 50 minutes and was worry free! Blog Pictures 2010 436Upon arrival we made a quick stop at Bi-Wise Drugs to buy beach passes and sunscreen!

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The rest of our day consisted of paddle ball in the water, wading in slowly but surely due to the cold temperatures, reading, laughing, people watching, and basking in the beautiful 85 degree sunny weather!

Blog Pictures 2010 447 Blog Pictures 2010 446     Our camp for the day!  

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I was definitely all smiles today! I haven’t found my tan since our honeymoon!

Blog Pictures 2010 443 Subway never disappoints for the healthiest fast food available in just about any town! The only down side was that they only had Italian bread but boy was this delicious. I think salt air makes everything tastier and everyone hungrier! Blog Pictures 2010 442

The boys’ trip to the grocery store around noon proved very successful as they returned with Sabra hummus, Stacy’s pita chips, veggies, grapes, and pineapple! Holy yum!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. But luckily, the rest of our evening included Lauren, Casey, great food, and fireworks!

Blog Pictures 2010 451 Delicious homemade sangria and pork chops at Red Cat. The best discovery ever! Blog Pictures 2010 450

Fireworks enjoyed two blocks away on 26th street after our amazing dinner!

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And now, it is time for bed! Tomorrow will include two restaurant reviews from the weekend!

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